Penniless, Homeless, Hungry

~~~ Judges 2:11-19 ~~~ Psalm 106 ~~~ Matthew 19:16-22 ~~~

A young man approached Jesus and said,

“Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”

Jesus gives an answer that surprises the young man...

'Keep the commandments'

But then the man asks which commandments.

There are only ten commandments;

if each one were not important then God 

would not have given them to Moses.

On this day Jesus chooses to focus on the commandments

dealing with how he interacted with others.

killing, adultery, stealing, lying, honoring our parents

 and finally loving his neighbor.

The young man is quick to respond,

 confirming he keeps these commandments.

There must be more he can do...

We too can identify with this young man.

We keep the commandments...we are good people...

we love our neighbors, well sometimes.

But then Jesus goes deeper...

“If you wish to be perfect, go,

sell what you have and give to the poor,

and you will have treasure in heaven.

Then come, follow me.”

When Jesus presents leaving everything behind to follow him,

the young man panics and quickly runs away.

I am not sure if we should take this verse literally

 or embrace the spirit of the words.

If we take it literally then we would all be living in tents.

We would not have a thriving economy.

We would be growing our own food...

making our own clothes.

We would not have doctors or higher education.

The list could go on and on.

On the other hand if we realize the spirit of this verse

it takes on a different meaning.

We must share what we have, acknowledging that 

all has come from God.

Some people are poor in their heart.

We are being asked to draw from the abundance

 within our own heart and give to those in need.

Jesus did not have monetary wealth as went about his ministry.

Jesus had wealth of spirit, given to him from the Father.

The Father filled the heart of Jesus 

with much more than money could buy.

We too have this same spirit within because

  the Lord is one with us.

The only way for us to follow Jesus

 is to reach into that spirit 

and make it real in our daily lives.

If we want our treasure in heaven

 we must look outside ourselves...

We must find a way to be more like Jesus. 

To follow Jesus...to enter into the kingdom of heaven

does not mean that we must be penniless, homeless, and hungry.

To follow Jesus means we walk humbly with him.

We cannot follow Jesus if we turn and run in the other direction.

You are Blessed each day

 with the necessary grace to follow Jesus.

He is there to support and guide you.

~~~Peace~~~

Take Off Your Sunglasses

 ~~~ Isaiah 58:1-9a ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~ Matthew 9: 14-15 ~~~

Have you ever noticed that whenever a person does not want to be recognized the first thing they put on is sunglasses. Celebrities are often seen being hurriedly whisked away into their waiting limo wearing sunglasses. The darkness of the tinted lens, while providing protection from harmful UV light, also hides your eyes. Eyes hidden behind these lens cannot be seen by others.

I believe your eyes are the windows into your soul, as some writers have previously stated. If your eyes are shielded from the sight of others what could that imply?

I would offer a connection between sunglasses and the words from the Isaiah reading today.

Those fasting with heads downcast covered in ashes wearing their penitential sackcloth are in fact wearing sunglasses. Their view of their world is dark, introverted and self centered. They are only looking down seeing nothing but the dirt and mud in their path. They do not look out. They do not see others. They do not make any attempt at eye contact. Eye contact at this point might be uncomfortable.

I personally dislike talking with someone wearing sunglasses precisely because I cannot see their eyes. Our eyes are so very expressive. You can tell if a person is joyful or sad by looking into their eyes. Some time ago I created a YouTube video titled Eye Gazing. It is simply suggesting that you spend time gazing into the eyes of Jesus. Meditating on his loving gaze can bring deep peace to your soul.

Today Isaiah is saying hey guys take off those dark glasses. Open your eyes. Look up and you will see what really matters to God. "What is the purpose having your eyes fixed on the ground?" asks, Jesus. Therefore, if what you are doing is ineffective I am not even going to acknowledge your actions.  

Jesus enters the scene saying, 'take off the sunglasses' and you will be able to see what I see. If you take off those dark glasses you will see those who are in most need of your attention. You know the ones you try to ignore by bowing down looking at the dirt and shading your eyes.

Look around and you will see those whom God cares most about...the oppressed, the hungry, the poor, naked, and the homeless to name a few. When you look up at these faces and into these eyes, my friends, find compassion in your heart. Take action on their behalf. Get up from your introverted ash covered penitential pieties and do something for those in need. Do something to help your brothers and sisters who are  suffering. There are opportunities all around if you but open your eyes and look.

When you reach out to those less fortunate you come to realize how blessed you are. You come to understand that hiding behind your sunglasses is not all that pleasing to God.

The Lord says, if you help those in need; when you call on me to come to your aid I will say, "Here I am!

You may find it surprising, but helping the less fortunate in our community does have a gold lining.

In the act of reaching out to help another your own burdens are lifted.

God will say to you, "Here I am1"

 So during this Lent I invite you to take off your sunglasses...

see where you can help another person in need.

 Join the psalmist...Let your sacrifice be a contrite and humble heart.

You Satisfy the Hungry

Honoring the Big Mac?

Jeroboam set up calves for worship to make it more convenient for his people. He used the 'good ole boy' system of picking his high priests not those from the order of priests...Levites. He set up feasts to honor the calves he had made and offered sacrifices before these idols. He went about his ways in total disregard of what had been set forth by God.

Once you head down the path of wrongdoing it is strewn with dangers. The greatest danger is that one thing will lead to the next until you are so lost you cannot see your way back. When you are in a position of leadership you have a responsibility to lead in a righteous way. You have an obligation to seek wisdom in what it means to lead well. Jeroboam was attempting to please his people and not his God and the God of his ancestors.


Jeroboam was misusing his abundance and his his generosity to his friends. He thought ruling was a popularity contest. He wanted to maintain good favor among the people through granting their desires.

I have seen some parents who sadly find themselves in the same situation; trying to win favor with their children instead of being the parent and using good judgment. Sometimes saying 'no' is the best thing for a child. Jeroboam could not say 'no'.

In the gospel Jesus is once again feeding thousands with only a few loaves and fishes. This is such a familiar story that until now I had failed to see this as a generosity story. A story if you will about the abundance of God. Jesus, says, "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd..." The people had been together for three days.

A few times we have been at an outdoor concert and once you get your area 'staked out' you do not want to leave for fear of losing your spot. Not having fast food readily available and no one circulate through the crowd selling cold drinks so leaving for food was the only option. They did not buy an entrance ticket...they did not know this was to be a three day conference. They just did not want to leave. Jesus was amazing them with each teaching. The may not have fully understood the message, but it was Jesus, the healer, who was speaking. They were lucky enough to be present for this event.

The disciples were overwhelmed by the crowd and advised Jesus to send them all home rather than try to feed such a crowd....again. Or just maybe the disciples needed another example of the immense abundance of this person Jesus.

Either way it is a very good lesson for us today; for if God is this generous

with food for the physical body.

How much more generous will he be for our spiritual body.

How generous is he with mercy and forgiveness?

How generous is he with protection?

How generous is he with his presence?

He is generous enough to give us his body and blood in the Eucharist at every Mass.

He is generous enough to say I will be with you until the end of time.

He is generous enough to say 'be not afraid'.

He is generous enough to calm the stormy seas.

He is generous enough to mold us into something for himself.

He is generous enough to sustain our life every day.

Jesus only dismissed the crowd after he had fed all four thousand of them.

On my death bed I hope to be able to pray in thanksgiving

for having been satisfied by the love of the Lord.

Lord, you alone can satisfy the hungry heart.